The present invention relates to push-carts and the like and, in particular, it concerns a wheel assembly which is both strong and easily assembled for use with such carts.
It is known to provide a wide variety of carts, trolleys, baby carriages, storage boxes and wheel barrows for domestic, garden and travel use. For convenience of reference, all such devices will be referred to collectively as "carts". Most carts have one or more axle rotatably mounted within the body of the cart, with a pair of wheels attached to opposite ends of the axle. The wheels are typically attached by welding or bolting, both labor intensive and thus expensive assembly techniques.
A further shortcoming of carts in which wheels are rigidly attached to a common axle is lack of maneuverability. Since the wheels cannot turn independently, such a cart is inconvenient for even gentle cornering, and incapable of turning on the spot. The familiar single wheel design conventionally preferred for wheel barrows, on the other hand, is highly maneuverable, but suffers from a lack of stability.
In order to improve the maneuverability of carts having paired-wheels, it is possible to mount the wheels so as to be rotatable with respect to the axle. However, such a construction raises further structural and assembly complications since both travel of each wheel along the axle and of the axle within the cart body must be prevented to ensure smooth operation.
There is therefore a need for a low cost, easily assembled wheel assembly which allows independent rotation of each wheel.